Online Hispanic Trends

Online Hispanics: Younger, Very Social, and Accessing Internet via Cell Phones

A report by market research firm Mintel provides convincing evidence that online Hispanics are using the Internet to communicate using cell phones and computers at rates greater than other demographic groups.

The results of the survey analyzed in the report show that online Hispanics:

• Tend to be younger than the general online audience. Over 33% of online Hispanics were age 24 or younger in 2006.

• Are accessing the Internet via their cell phones. They browse the Internet via their cell phones more than three times as much as non-Hispanics per week (1.1 hours vs. 0.4 hours for non-Hispanics).

• Spend almost twice as much time using social networking sites and chatting via IM as non-Hispanics (5 hours vs. 3.5 hours).

• Are more likely to have social networking profiles than non-Hispanics (48% compared to 43% of Black Americans and 31% of Whites) and those aged 18-34 visit social networking websites 3.6 times a week on average, vs. just 1.3 times per week for over-35s.

Source: Cloud Computing Journal

Smithsonian Latino Launches Latino Virtual Museum in Second Life

The Smithsonian Latino Center launched the Smithsonian Latino Virtual Museum, an avatar-based 3-D virtual world featuring immersive learning activities, this week in Second Life.

According to Artdaily.org, "The program includes a welcome video using the latest in virtual-world filmmaking technologies known as “Machinima” that guides users through key areas of the museum."

"Tour sites include the “placita”; the Sin Fronteras Café; the Afro-Cuban instrument room; the “Son Clave” music lounge, featuring award-winning digital collections from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings; the amphitheater and the Smithsonian Expedition Wing, where users can learn about key archeological expeditions in Mexico through the work of Matthew Sterling; and the Olmec Legacy Collection at the National Museum of Natural History."

Read complete article at www.Artdaily.org

Recent Findings on Hispanic Mobile Device Usage

Scarborough Research's recently released study provides useful data to understand how Latinos in the U.S. are using their cell phones, and shows clearly that mobile devices are "an important point of Internet entry" for Hispanic adults. 

Specific findings show the following percentages regarding Hispanic cell phone subscriber use:

• 55% using text messaging,
• 28% using picture messaging,
• 22% using instant messaging, 
• 15% downloading video games, 
• 15% using them for e-mail, and 
• 11% for "other" Internet usage.

Source: AdWeek

Online Hispanics are Avid Digital Downloaders

A key finding of a new report by Scarborough Research is that Hispanic Internet users are "avid downloaders of digital content."  This can be attributed in part due to the fact that Latinos are adopting broadband at rates close to the overall online population.

Some interesting statistics coming out of the Scarborough study:

• 54% of all Hispanic adults are online vs. 60 % of all adults.
• 68% have a broadband connection vs. 71% of all Internet users.
• 42% of Hispanic downloaded digital content in past month vs. 35% of all Internet users.
• 32% of Hispanic users downloading music vs. 24% of users in general.

Source: AdWeek

AOL Making Significant Investments in the U.S. Onine Hispanic Market

It's been a busy month for AOL in terms of launching new sites and content for the U.S. Online Latino audience. This activity seems to be a strong indication that AOL is making serious investments in this growing market.

This week AOL People Networks announced the launch of its Bebo U.S. Latino site in collaboration with Hearst Magazines Digital Media and AOL Latino.

Bebo's Lifestream Platform allows users to connect with other users and with content from multiple sites, including Flickr, MySpace, Facebook and others.  Users can connect with existing friends or others who share common interests and tastes.

AOL Latino will contribute music and entertainment content and Hearst Magazines Digital Media will provide other interactive content, including content for young girls planning their quinceñeras - http://www.bebo.com/mis_quince.

Source: Finchannel.com

AOL also launched another Spanish language resource called TecnoPadres.com, a site designed to help less technically savvy parents navigate the web. The site aspires to help parents monitor their childrens' use of the Internet and keep them safe and the site will license and translate content from the OnlineMom, a site/blog that was created by a tech-concerned mother, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

New Data on Latinos in the U.S. from Pew Hispanic Center

The Pew Hispanic Center has released a statistical profile of the Latino population based on data from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS). 

The ACS includes a sample of about three million addresses and addresses many of the questions addressed in the decennial census and provides data on the size and characteristics of the resident population, including persons living in group quarters for the first time.  

To access the data and tables, visit Pew Hispanic